A/N: Alex's outfit for this chapter can be viewed on my Tumblr, under the name 'darksideofparis'.
"I'm exhausted," Amy proclaimed as the group stepped back into the TARDIS.
"Yes, being unconscious for most of the day is very tiring," Alex dryly retorted.
Amy stuck her tongue out at her. "Shut up," she smirked. "I'm off to bed." She sashayed towards the staircase while the Doctor, Alex, and Rory lounged by the console. Halfway up, she called over her shoulder, "Mr. Pond!"
Rory jumped. "Coming!" he called. He hugged Alex real quickly, murmuring in her ear, "Happy birthday," before rushing up after his wife.
Alex laughed at the two. "Well, I think I'm going to follow their lead. I'm pretty tired too."
"Hold on just a second, Ally," the Doctor requested.
Alex nodded and stepped closer to him. "What's up, Doc?"
"Close your eyes," he instructed.
Alex frowned, thinking that a little strange, but obliged. "Okay." She closed her eyes and giggled nervously. What was he doing?
The Doctor sensed her nerves and chuckled. "Relax," he soothed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue velvet box. "It's just your birthday present."
Alex's eyebrows shot up. "A present?" she repeated. "Doctor, you didn't have to get me anything! The trip to Savannah was more than enough!"
"Ally, that trip didn't exactly go as planned."
"Since when does anything with you?" Alex laughed. She bounced on her heels a little. "Can I open my eyes now?"
"You've very impatient," the Doctor observed, and he laughed heartily when Alex stuck her tongue out at him. "Okay, okay, you can open them."
Alex's eyes fluttered open and flew down to the jewelry box in his hand. For a split second, her heart stopped beating. Was it . . . an engagement ring? No, that couldn't be it! They weren't even dating! Far from it, actually. "What is it?" she breathed, hoping her voice didn't give away the nervousness and excitement she felt.
Without a word, the Doctor flicked open the clasp. There wasn't a ring inside, but that didn't matter. The contents more than made up for it. Inside, nestled on a tiny pillow of white satin, was the most gorgeous necklace she'd ever seen. A thin silver chain attached to a charm nearly the size of a baby's fist. The charm was the police-box exterior of the TARDIS. Brilliant blue sapphires made up the wood, tiny white diamonds and black onyx made up the signs, and at the very top, a topaz acted as the lightbulb.
The Doctor breathed nervously. If Alex didn't like this necklace, he wasn't sure what he would do. "Do you like it?"
"I love it!" Alex squealed. "It's beautiful!" She reached out to carefully run a finger over the gemstones. "Where in the world did you get it?"
"Actually . . . I made it. I got the jewels from a planet whose inhabitants owed me a favor."
Alex looked up at him. "You made this just for me?"
He smiled at her. "Don't be so surprised, Ally. I'd do anything for you." And it was the truth. He would do anything for Alex. He'd never felt this way towards a companion before. Whipped, Jack would call it, and maybe that was true. But whipped or not, he knew he didn't ever want this feeling to go away. "Would you like me to put it on you?"
Alex nodded eagerly. "Yes!" She turned around and lifted her hair. The Doctor pulled the necklace out, setting the box between some levers on the console. He unclipped the clasp and put his arms over Alex's head to pull the necklace around her neck. Alex reached up to touch the charm as he did the clasp, his fingers tingling as he touched her bare neck.
Alex smiled widely. The charm rested just an inch below her collarbone, the perfect length. She could take the necklace off without undoing the clasp. Not that she was going to be taking it off anytime soon. In fact, Alex had the suspicion that she would never remove the necklace at all. She'd have to be buried in it.
She turned around to face the Doctor. "Thank you," she beamed. "I love it. It's so beautiful."
He smiled, pleased that she liked his gift. "I'm glad to hear that, Ally. It's really special."
Alex ran her fingertips over the gemstones as she looked at him. God, this man was amazing. He was so thoughtful, caring, determined, headstrong, brilliant, a little bit – okay, a lot – mad, and he was so handsome. She was continually awed by the things he did and how much he cared for her. No other guy she knew, not even Ross, cared for her the way the Doctor did. And Alex cared for him in the same way. She wouldn't hesitate to jump in and try to save him if something happened to him. She was always by his side, helping and figuring things out and making him smile in the toughest moments. God, she loved this man and—
Wait. Did she just think . . . she loved this man?
Alex swallowed. Oh God. It was true. She loved the Doctor, loved as in rom-com movies, Valentine's Day cards, passion, trust, security, and just generally being with him. She had never felt such a thing so strongly before. This wasn't some high-school crush or infatuation that was over in a few weeks. This was real, honest love, the kind of love that she never imagined herself being in. Not until the Doctor came along and made her world topsy-turvy.
But . . . he could never love her back. Maybe he did love her, but he'd never admit it. He was a centuries old Time Lord and she was a simple human. She would never live as long as he did. She was practically a baby compared to him. She could spend the rest of her life with him, but how would that be, her growing older with each passing day as he stayed eternally young?
The Doctor and Alex. Star-crossed lovers. People could write weepy songs about them and figure out verses that rhymed with 'the next Romeo and Juliet'.
She couldn't say anything. She just couldn't. It would hurt too much if he rebuffed her or told her he loved her as well, but they could never be together. She didn't know which one was more painful.
Swallowing again in an effort to calm down, Alex spoke. "Thanks again for Savannah, the necklace, everything. Best birthday ever." And it was. It was the best birthday. None of her Bristol celebrations or her elaborate NYC parties or any birthday after this could top her 21st.
Alex stood up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek, the action seeming sad somehow. Alex pulled back, not even seeing that his eyes were blissfully closed. "I'm off to bed," she murmured before turning on her heel and rushing up the stairs.
As soon as she was out of sight, the Doctor leaned back against the console. Alex's kiss had left him craving more. He wanted to plant his hands on her hips and draw her in closer as he kissed her till they were both reduced to gasping need-breath-now states. But he couldn't. It wouldn't be right to either to them.
At least he had given her the necklace. As he was trying to think of a good present for her aside from a trip to Savannah, River's Library words came flooding back to him ". . .God knows Alex never would've given me that necklace of hers." It all came together rather easily after that.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic and pressed a button, making it light up and give off its familiar buzzing. Yes, Alex had no idea how truly special her necklace was.
~Living the Life of Ally~
The next morning, Rory and Amy were having breakfast in the kitchen. They were chatting and laughing as young couples do, when Alex walked in. Their eyes traveled over to her, mouths open to include her in the conversation, but they fell silent.
Alex didn't notice, instead reaching up on tiptoe to grab a pan from one of the cabinets. She was determined to make eggs sunny side up today. She loved them and she was sure that she could conquer them if she tried hard enough. She had conquered Algebra II and the volleyball unit in ninth grade gym the same way.
"Morning, Ponds!" she said cheerfully, trying to hide the upset she felt in her heart at realizing she loved the Doctor but could never have him. "Hope you're feeling really hungry because I'm determined to make eggs sunny side up the right way. . ."
Her voice trailed off when she noticed neither Pond was talking. She turned to see their stunned expressions. Alex frowned at them and looked down to examine her outfit. She was wearing a sleeveless Union Jack shirt, jean shorts, red Converse, and her regular hoop earrings. She looked back up and shook her head. "Jesus, what is wrong with you two?"
"Alex," Amy said slowly. "What is that around your neck?"
Alex looked down again to see her TARDIS necklace around her neck. Oh, yeah. She hadn't removed it from her neck ever since it had been put on, not even when she took a one-minute shower this morning, carefully avoiding the sharp spray to keep it from getting wet. "Oh, yeah. This is my birthday present from the Doctor."
Amy jumped up and practically threw herself over the table. She reached out and carefully fingered the charm as if it were made of glass. "He gave you this?" she said, staring at the gemstones in amazement.
Alex nodded. "Yeah. Isn't it beautiful?"
"Gorgeous," Amy corrected. She squinted at the gems. "Are they real?"
Again, Alex nodded. "Yep. Sapphires, diamonds, onyx, and one topaz."
Rory got up as well to examine the new hunk of jewelry wrapped around Alex's throat. "Alex, this has to be worth thousands, maybe millions."
Alex shrugged. She wasn't too concerned about that. "I guess. You're not suggesting I sell it, are you?"
"No!" Rory protested. "It's just. . . It's pretty big that he gave you something like this."
"Yeah," Amy agreed. "No offense, husband of mine, but no guy does that for just any girl." She smiled wistfully. "The Doctor must really love you."
Alex was reminded of her realization last night and how it was both wonderful and depressing. "No," she said, shaking her head and turning around to face the stove. "He doesn't love me. It's just a birthday present. Don't read so much into it. Now, how would you like your eggs?"
~Living the Life of Ally~
"Trust me, Ally, you're going to love Arcateen V!" the Doctor exclaimed as he and Alex walked through the corridors to the console room. "They have Butterfly People, you know."
That stopped Alex in her tracks. "Wait, actual butterfly people, like humans with wings on their backs?"
The Doctor grinned. "Have I impressed you yet, Ally Locke?"
Alex matched his grin with equal ferocity. "You keep on doing it every single day, Doc," she revealed as the two headed down another corridor and moved down the stairs into the console room. However, upon reaching the final step, they came to a sudden halt as they saw the sight before them.
Amy and Rory were making out rather passionately against the console. Amy was pressed up against it, practically bending backwards, not even seeming to notice that a lever was pressing into her back. Rory's arms were wrapped around her waist and his knee was resting comfortably in between her legs. Frankly, it was a bit uncomfortable to watch. And that was before Rory's hand started making its way up Amy's shirt.
The Doctor acted fast. "No snogging against the console!" he shouted, causing the Ponds to spring apart and whirl around.
"Doctor!" Amy cried as she hastened to smooth down her top. She ran a hand through her hair, though whether it was to adjust it or because she was nervous, Alex didn't know. Both Ponds had identical guilty and mortified looks on their faces and could barely look the Doctor and Alex in the eye.
The Doctor sighed. After that little incident with Rory looking up Amy's skirt and dropping a thermal coupling, he should have seen this coming. "Right!" he cried, darting to the console, briefly pausing to make sure the couple hadn't damaged anything in their making out. "Forget Arcateen V! In fact, I think it's time for a little break."
"What?!" Amy shrieked. Just because he caught her making out with her husband against his precious console, he was sending her home?
"Not like that," Alex hastened to assure her. "I think what he means is that you and Rory here need a honeymoon. You haven't had one yet."
"Exactly!" the Doctor confirmed.
Rory nodded, running their words through his head. "A honeymoon would be nice," he mused.
Alex smirked at him. "Rory, behave!" she mock-scolded, giggling a little when Rory rolled his eyes at her. She turned to the Doctor, not seeing him tense slightly at her giggling because of something Rory had done and not him. "What about me, Doc? You and me and the open road?"
The Doctor smiled at her. "Actually, Ally, when we called Lacey, she mentioned she and Marigold wanted to see you. Extra birthday stuff, I imagine."
Alex nodded. Though she really wanted to travel with the Doctor, she was always game for seeing Lacey and Marigold. "Sounds like a plan, Doc," she agreed.
The Doctor nodded and pulled a lever. "Okay everyone, hold on tight!"
With that, the TARDIS was hurdling through the time-vortex as everyone inside held on to something, ready for a little reprieve from running and fighting aliens.
A/N: AHH! He gave her a sonic necklace! She realized she loves him! Aren't you all excited? :) Okay, I'm going to keep this pretty short, because I have to type this for the second time after accidentally hitting the backspace button and I'm really not feeling well right now.
Notes on reviews. . .
Neko 97 - I love those parts too. They're so sweet and fluffy! :)
Timey-Wimey Somn-Like Lass - Glad you liked the chapter and the species. :) Lol, Marie's hat was pretty cool, wasn't it? :) Ugh, I know! I hate when people sing 'Happy Birthday' to me. People at my school have recently started singing it to their friends in the cafeteria at lunch over the sound system. It's torture, for the people getting sung to and those of us who have to listen to the person literally screaming into the microphone.
TheUltimateGuest - Yeah, those scenes are pretty similar. I love writing Dark Doctor. It's an interesting dynamic to play with, especially with Alex there. :)
TheGirlWhoWaited - Yeah, aliens who can eat your mind are really, really creepy. :) And you were right! She got a sonic necklace! Don't you love when that happens? :)
Gwilwillith - Thanks! :)
ElysiumPhoenix - Glad you liked the aliens! And we found out her present here! Hope you liked the chapter! :)
rycbar15 - I am, aren't I? :} I haven't thought about putting this on Wattpad, but I'll definitely consider it. :)
SopherGopherroxursox - Yes, that part was pretty cute...and steamy, lol. :)
jesterlover - I love cake too. Happy almost-birthday! :)
SopherGopher'sAwesomeSister - Yeah, you would've expected her to have a full-on freak-out right? :) Yes, I made up the Soulisases. :) Oh, I've seen those! I'm not really into action-figures, but I do have a mini TARDIS that makes the materialization noise, so that's something. :)
ShadowTeir - Yeah, the name is weird. It was the first one that popped into my head and I couldn't think of anything else. :) And we found out what he got her in this chapter! Glad you liked the chapter! :)
